BAMAKO, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Mali have called up three locally-based players in their final 23-man squad for this month's African Nations Cup finals, the Mali Football federation
announced on Thursday.

Goalkeeper Soumbeyla Diakite from Stade Malien and the
Djoliba pair of Souleymane Dembele and Amadou Sidibe were added
by coach Jean Francois Jodar after failing to make a preliminary
list of 28 last month.

All three have previously been capped by Mali at full
international level.

The squad is dominated by the Spanish-based trio of Frederic
Kanoute, Seydou Keita and Real Madrid's Mahamadou Diarra.
Sevilla striker Kanoute is one of the five candidates for the
African Footballer of the Year award, to be announced on Feb. 1.

Jodar has recalled AJ Auxerre defender Sammy Traore, whose
last game for Mali was in October 2006

Mali, who have been drawn in Group B with Benin, the Ivory
Coast and Nigeria, start a training camp in the United Arab
Emirates on Monday. They play Egypt in a friendly there on Jan.
10 and Iran three days later, the football federation said.

Mali's opening game at the Nations Cup finals in Ghana is
against fellow West Africans Benin in Sekondi on Jan. 21.